Ireland have called Brett Wilkinson and Luke Fitzgerald into their squad for the autumn internationals, the Irish Rugby Football Union confirmed today.

The South Africa-born Connacht prop Wilkinson comes in because the Munster loosehead Marcus Horan has been ruled out for several weeks with a hand injury. Fitzgerald was left out of Declan Kidney's initial 34-man group after he suffered an injury while on duty with Leinster in the Heineken Cup. But the Lions winger has proved his fitness since and joins the squad ahead of fixtures against South Africa, Samoa, New Zealand and Argentina at the new Aviva Stadium next month.Munster hooker Jerry Flannery, the Munster hooker, was the other player left out of the original party to allow him to prove his fitness as he struggles with a calf injury, but he has not sufficiently recovered as yet.

An IRFU statement read: "Connacht prop Brett Wilkinson and Leinster's Luke Fitzgerald have both been added to the Ireland squad that joined up together in Limerick on Monday afternoon ahead of the start of the Guinness Series next week."